Cross My Heart: A Novel

“Part (possible) murder mystery, part deep dive into out-of-control social media addiction, and part sleight-of-hand trick by the author...terrific.” —The New York Times

The author of The Family Plot brings her signature “taut, emotionally charged, and propulsive” (Jeneva Rose, New York Times bestselling author) prose to a twisty novel about a heart transplant patient who becomes romantically obsessed with her donor’s husband.

She has his wife’s heart; the one she wants is his.

Rosie Lachlan wants nothing more than to find The One.

A year after she was dumped in her wedding dress, she’s working at her parents’ bridal salon, anxious for a happy ending that can’t come soon enough. After receiving a life-saving heart transplant, Rosie knows her health is precious and precarious. She suspects her heart donor is Daphne Thorne, the wife of local celebrity author Morgan Thorne, who she begins messaging via an anonymous service called DonorConnect, ostensibly to learn more about Daphne. But Rosie has a secret: She’s convinced that now that she has his wife’s heart, she and Morgan are meant to be together.

As she and Morgan correspond, the pretense of avoiding personal details soon disappears, even if Rosie’s keeping some cards close to her chest. But as she digs deeper into Morgan’s previous marriage, she discovers disturbing rumors about the man she’s falling for. Could Morgan have had something to do with his late wife’s death? And can Rosie’s heart sustain another break—or is she next?

Megan Collins is the author of Cross My Heart, Thicker Than Water, The Family Plot, Behind the Red Door, and The Winter Sister. She taught creative writing for many years at both the high school and college level and is the managing editor of 3Elements Literary Review. She lives in Connecticut, where she obsesses over dogs, miniatures, and cake.

ISBN: 9781668048078
Format: Hardback
Pages: 320
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: January 14, 2025

“Part (possible) murder mystery, part deep dive into out-of-control social media addiction and part sleight-of-hand trick by the author ... terrific.”
—The New York Times

“[S]pine-tingling… Collins expertly homes in on her characters’ complexities, nailing the way Rosie’s vulnerability gradually slips into obsession. With a pulse-pounding finale and plenty of exciting plot twists along the way, this is difficult to put down.”
—Publishers Weekly “Collins, who specializes in fiendishly clever psychological thrillers (including The Family Plot, 2021) outdoes herself here with a jaw-dropping premise that tightens into a deadly cat-and-mouse game… Collins keeps the suspense at cauldron-bubbling intensity throughout. A bravura performance.”
—Booklist (starred review)“Though absorbing and binge-able, this book is a triumph for more than just its entertainment value. Alongside the work of fellow authors such as Jacqueline Bublitz and Gillian Flynn, Collins’s fifth novel helps shape a new generation of thrillers that furthers the conversation about who gets to tell women’s stories and what kinds of women are deemed worthy of compassion.”
—Bookstr"Original, fast-paced, and with a twist in the middle that will leave your jaw on the floor, Cross My Heart deserves to be at the top of your must-read list!"
—Amy Engel, author of I Did It For You and The Roanoke Girls"If Nora Ephron had written your favorite thriller, it would be Cross My Heart. Equal parts spine-tingling and soul-wrenching, Collins' latest unpacks the perils of parasocial relationships and the lies we tell ourselves with devilish wit, sizzling prose and a hair-raiser of a plot. The twists will have your jaw on the floor and your heart beating in time to Rosie's borrowed one. A true pulse-pounder with one question at its core: how far would you go to be with the one you (think you) love?"
—Leah Konen, author of The Last Room on the Left“Part love story, part thriller, Cross My Heart is a sharply clever, highly entertaining, shifting kaleidoscope of a mystery.”
—Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of Like Mother, Like Daughter“With her fifth novel, Megan Collins proves once again why she should be on everyone’s must-read list! Cross Your Heart is the best type of psychological suspense–one that you want to immediately read again once you get to the last satisfying page. It has everything I love as a reader – an unreliable yet sympathetic narrator, cast of deliciously twisted people, razor sharp observations about relationships, and one twist after another. I read it in one night!”
—Kellye Garrett, award winning author of Missing White Woman"Cross My Heart is a smart-as-a-whip thriller: electric, original, juicy, and full of clever twists and turns. Rosie Lachlan gives major Joe Goldberg vibes in the BEST way—an unhinged heroine fixated on love, with a big heart and an even bigger edge to her. Megan Collins is a master of suspense, with the ability to balance a page-turning plot with absolutely sparkling prose—I am in awe."
—Halley Sutton, USA Today bestselling author of The Hurricane Blonde “When Rosie Lachlan's heart transplant leads her to her donor’s husband, a renowned crime fiction author, she thinks she’s finally found 'the one’…but will Rosie’s longing for true love blind her to the suspicious nature of his wife’s death? It’s rare to find a thriller that strikes a perfect balance between mystery and emotional complexity, but that’s the magic of Cross My Heart. Expect relentless tension, skillful misdirection, poet-worthy prose, and one of the best binge-reading sessions of your life. Megan Collins has outdone herself, and Cross My Heart is a triumph."
—Tessa Wegert, author of The Coldest Case"Shocking, clever, and thoroughly enthralling. With its graceful prose and utterly jaw-dropping moments, this twisted yet heartfelt tale of deadly obsession is impossible to put down. A hypnotic stunner."
—Heather Chavez, author of Before She Finds Me and What We’ll Burn Last